"We are building a new way! We are building a new way! We are building a new way. Feeling stronger every day. We are building a new way." Thus begins Martha Sandefer's musical call in our hymnal supplement, Singing the Journey.  This year, these words have sparked the imagination, creativity and enthusiasm of our Stewardship Team.  This Sunday, March 6, we kick off the 2016 Stewardship Drive.  Our goal this year is at least 140 pledge responses, and the exciting possibility that with some effort we could top $250,000 in pledges!  To do this, we need everyone to respond in the coming weeks to the emails and letters that are coming.  This is an exciting and critical moment in the history of UUCW.

 

All of the indicators from those who study the growth of mainline congregations in the United States point to a significant decline in church attendance, with the exception of Unitarian Universalism, which has held steady in many parts of the country over the past few decades though facing mild declines over the past few years.  Is this a reason to fret?  Not, according to renowned Professor of Religious Studies at Harvard, Diana Eck.

 

 

 

"In a world divided by race and by religion and ideology. . ." This congregation, with its mission to "inspire people to take on the challenges of a changing world" continues to provide opportunities to inform, act, and transform the communities that we belong to and serve.  This year along, study groups on racism, mass incarceration and escalating inequality invited participants to plumb some of the depths of the systems and history that continues to divide us as a nation and world of haves and have-nots, of oppressed and oppressors, of justice and injustice.  This has led to a number of efforts including drawing closer to Muslim neighbors through our well attended Linking Communities of Faith event and tremendous collection for New Day Syria.  In addition we have begun efforts to work more closely with the new arrival community through forming partnerships with the African Community Education Program and later this month with Ascentria Care Alliance, the largest resettlement agency in Worcester.  Our Solar Panel Taskforce is days away from finalizing a contract to install solar paneling on our roofs.  Our Accessibility Taskforce continues to facilitate needed changes to our structures and more awareness about ways we can be more welcoming to those with a variety of challenges. What is important about all of these efforts is that the spark that generated these experiences and ongoing ministries began in the heart and mind of individual members and friends of this congregation who came forward and said "I want to do this."  

 

It is the same with those ongoing ministries that we continue to grow.  Our Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry continues to feed 65-80 families a month.  This year the Pantry received a grant from the Worcester Rotary Club to purchase new refrigeration units and members of the Food Pantry Task Force have expanded our services to include assisting those in need of SNAP benefits in the application process.  Our homelessness ministry with the Interfaith Hospitality Network continues to sponsor weeks of service to families in transition and this year has spawned a new Happy Arts program to bring artistic endeavors to these families on a monthly basis.   Once again our Holiday Shoe Box ministry was a tremendous success, this year teaming up with other UU congregations from Worcester and Brookfield to deliver 80 packages of gift items to children in the ACE program and our Annual Mitten Tree brought in a variety of items to assist those in need in our community.  Our Holiday Shop and ongoing Fair Trade ministry linked us to resources in our wider UU world as well as those that assist us in making just choices with our purchasing power.  Our weekly "Change for Change" Children's Collection and special holiday collections have provided hundreds of dollars for rental, utility, medical, and transportation assistance to those in need in our community.

 

Most important are our ministries of worship and religious education.  This year we launched our Monthly Themed Ministry program that has helped to shape our worship calendar, as well as sparking a new Small Group Ministry Program - Touchstones.  We have delighted in the renewed energy of our choir and the expert musician-ship of our Music Director Matt Johnsen and our Sabbatical Musical Director Jerry Bellows.  We have launched a revised monthly Evensong Soulful Sundown Vespers Service.  Our Religious Education Program is stellar.  This program continues to spark the imagination, energy and enthusiasm of a majority of our congregation.  This year we coordinated with other local UU congregations to offer another Our Whole Lives program for our burgeoning youth.  Our Youth Group continues to be one of the largest in the region and provides a weekly opportunity for our youth to socialize, worship, and serve.  Later this month they will once again grace us with their annual youth worship service.

 

Finally, this year we have exponentially increased the ways in which we can access our technology in service to our mission as a liberal religious community of faith.  Our Website Team has launched and continues to develop our new website, www.uucworcester.org.  We implemented a new phone system which will dramatically reduce the cost of this service over the next few years.  We instituted three new forms of digital giving using the services of Simplegive and Paypal, making it easier for those who continue to support us financially in so many ways.

 

This has been an extraordinary year and I believe will prove to be a stellar stewardship season!  Please join us on Sunday.  Help us celebrate this vibrant community and extraordinary faith tradition.  The Board promises a party!  I promise that with our continuing efforts not only are we building a new way, we continue to be a critical resource for the communities we love and the world we cherish.  With your continuing support we continue to be and are evermore becoming "a congregation of love, hope and justice!"   

From the Writings of Mark Nepo: